I can't tell you how excited I am that Choosing Wisely Canada is now live!

Their resources will make discussions between Canadian patients and healthcare providers far more appropriate. The ideas showcased here provide a place for starting a dialogue, inspire patients to ask "why" questions about care, and encourage physicians to think twice about testing and treatment options.

The first wave includes Top 5 "don't" lists for specialities such as cardiology, family practice, orthopedics, and more. These are evidence-informed guides suggesting avoidance of certain tests and treatments in specific contexts.

The message is not "never" but rather "think twice about," and beware that every test and treatment may bear risks and harms that make it the wrong choice for some patients.

Many of us welcome all the tools we can get for the Shared Decision Making (SDM) approach. This is just Wave 1, and lots more evidence-informed speciality lists will be released soon.

By way of disclosure, I'm a member of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and have been involved for just over a year with their work on Health Care Transformation. I was not directly a part of the development of Choosing Wisely. The CMA's role in this timely and important effort is a significant achievement in advocacy and health policy, and I couldn't be prouder to stand with them.